Submitted to mINtSOUTH.com in June 2010 but currently unpublished
Interview and words - Suzy Sims
(c) Suzy Sims
INTERVIEW - THE MOMERATHS @ THE GREAT ESCAPE 2010
Paolo and Claire
mINtSOUTH: The Great Escape – we’re here now. Do you get a pass to see any other bands?
Claire: “Not that I’ve heard. We’ll see what we can wangle out of it. We did when we went to the Camden Crawl. We managed to get passes so we spent the rest of the day queuing, but hey.”
mINtSOUTH: How did it go today, did you enjoy it?
Claire: “I did enjoy it yeah. Despite being blamed for a mistake on stage which wasn’t my fault.”
mINtSOUTH: It’s on record now. It wasn’t your fault.
Claire: “It was Paolo actually.”
Paolo: “Sounds like a politician...”
mINtSOUTH: It was David Cameron’s fault it all went wrong today. Isn’t it quite hard doing the earlier ones in the day?
Claire: “Really hard to get people out of bed from the night before. And it’s a nice day too.”
mINtSOUTH: What do you associate with lovely Brighton?
Claire: “Seaside. I like the seaside. We know a couple of really good little bands from here.”
Paolo: “The Bobby McGees and The Half Sisters. When I think of Brighton, I always think of them.”
Claire: “Sunshine and the beach and Brighton rock.”
Paolo: “Oh, and that programme that was about that girl from Brighton. Sugar Rush.”
mINtSOUTH: What can people expect to see from The Momeraths’ live experience?
Claire: “A lot of red and white. We’re very well co-ordinated.”
Paolo: “Bar stools, ironing boards, banners.”
Claire: “Anything else beginning with b? Not bums. No bums on stage.”
mINtSOUTH: Did it take you ages to put your banner together? [The band has a series of little flags spelling out their name across the stage]
Paolo: “It took Claire years.”
Claire: “Literally, per letter was about 3 hours, maybe a bit more. It is worth it. Slave labour.”
mINtSOUTH: What if you got to the end and found you missed out one of the letters?
Paolo: “Or did it on the wrong colour, like it’s red / white / red / white - done two reds.”
Claire: “They’re good old ASDA pillowcases.”
mINtSOUTH: Have you got any releases out?
Paolo: “Yes we had an EP out this month, last month? Called A Single Cup of Tea. It’s got five songs on. We’re doing another EP in the summer and hopefully be doing an album next year, with loads of new songs.
Claire: “We’re getting there.”
Paolo: “Gradually. Slow movers.”
Claire: “Slow and steady wins the race, Paolo.”
mINtSOUTH: Tell me a fact about each other.
Claire: “A fact about Paolo... I don’t want to say any facts about you that I know! We’ve known each other for a long time, we live together so we know the deepest darkest secrets.”
mINtSOUTH: It’s not a Jeremy Kyle scandal type of question...
Claire: “But we will, by accident!”
Paolo: “I‘m not going to say something which I’m going to later regret.”
Claire: “Paolo is three-quarters Italian and a quarter Welsh.”
Paolo: “Claire is going to receive an NVQ at John Lewis for working there for three years, two days a week.”
Claire: "Four years, thank you very much!”
mINtSOUTH: I did five years at Somerfield and all I got was a badge. NVQs are much better.
Paolo: “Everyone’s got NVQs.”
mINtSOUTH: Plans for 2010?
Paolo: “We’ve got festivals in the summer. We’ve got Secret Garden Party and Lounge On The Farm.”
Claire: “They’re all the smaller nicer ones. We did Glastonbury last year, it’s great but it’s so big. I always wanted to go to Secret Garden Party, can’t wait.”
Paolo: “Couple of EPs and write an album I think. Enjoy the sunshine, for the next three weeks that we have of it. It’s always sunny down here.”
Claire: “ We live in Kingston, Surrey. I wish we had a beach. We’ve only got a massive river – the Thames. ‘That massive river’. Idiot!”
mINtSOUTH: Gorilla vs bear – who would win in a fight?
Claire: “Is that about me and Paolo? (laughs) I think I would! He’s the gorilla. Look at the hair.”
Paolo: “I think bears win in fights to be honest.”
Claire: “Oh I dunno. A gorilla’s got the arms. I think the gorilla could take it out with one quick swing. The bear would just go meehhh and fall over. (giggles) That was a really terrible impression of a bear.”
Paolo: “Now can we read these out to you? Tell me about that bag.”
mINtSOUTH: My friend gave it to me as a present. It’s from Primark.
Claire: “Are you releasing an album this year?”
mINtSOUTH: No.
Paolo: “Why not? Everyone’s releasing an album this year.”
Claire: “What do you associate with Brighton?”
mINtSOUTH: Deckchairs and beach.
Paolo: “How long have you lived in Brighton?”
mINtSOUTH: I don’t!
Claire: “Portsmouth? We’ve been there before. Live?”
mINtSOUTH: Yes I am.
Claire: “What can we expect live from you?”
mINtSOUTH: Probably a bit of talking and muttering.
Claire: “Plans for 2010?”
mINtSOUTH: To get a new job...
Paolo: “How much do you make a year?”
Claire: “Let’s get out the personal questions! Great Escape. I see you’ve got a pass.”
Paolo: “Is that a delegates pass? Have you got any spare ones?”
mINtSOUTH: “Yes, and unfortunately not.”
Claire: “I’m going to have to take that one then! Gorilla or bear?”
mINtSOUTH: Bear. I have a friend who calls himself The Bear and he seems to think he would win any fight.
[Tour manager walks over looking confused.] Claire: “We span it round, we’re messing things up a bit. [Start firing questions at tour manager]. Go on, answer them all at once!”
Tour Manager: “...No!”
The Momeraths
Showing posts with label brighton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brighton. Show all posts
Saturday, 3 July 2010
Interview - Detroit Social Club @ Great Escape 2010
Submitted to mINtSOUTH.com in June 2010 but unpublished
Interview and words - Suzy Sims
(c) Suzy Sims
INTERVIEW - DETROIT SOCIAL CLUB @ THE GREAT ESCAPE 2010
Dale Knight and Johnny Bond
mINtSOUTH: The Great Escape. Did you only get here today?
Johnny: “Yeah.”
Dale: “We saw a bit of Rachelle Van Zanten who was on before us, the slide guitarist from Canada. Her band were quite rootsy.”
Johnny: “We played earlier today at the Queens Hotel.”
mINtSOUTH: What about later tonight?
Johnny: “I want to see Band Of Skulls. They’re on after us, so that’s convenient.”
mINtSOUTH: What do you associate with Brighton?
Dale: “Quadrophenia. Has anyone said rock?”
Johnny: “I don’t really know much about it, I only came here when I was 10. Brighton rock and Quadrophenia, there you go.”
mINtSOUTH: What can people expect to see from you on stage?
Johnny: “We are very loud.”
mINtSOUTH: I figured that when your tour manager gave me earplugs to wear during your soundcheck.
Dale: “Some people say we’re too loud, but I don’t agree.”
Johnny: “The thing about playing live is you’re trying to get across a different side that’s not on the recordings. If you saw us but you listened to the album first, you wouldn’t expect what it sounds like live. If you saw us live first, you’d probably think the album was quite tame and sort of reserved.”
Dale: “It’s a shame when you see a band and it’s as good as the album and there’s nothing more. We try and add stuff.”
Johnny: “It makes it more interesting than just hearing it back as you do on the record.”
mINtSOUTH: Have you got any albums or releases out?
Johnny: “Our first album is out on May 31st and there’s a single, Sunshine People, before that. The album’s called Existence.”
mINtSOUTH: Looking forward to it? Has it been a long time in the making?
Johnny: “It has been a long time. We recorded it last summer, and that’s after spending a year and a half trying to find the right producer to do it. And it was put back another year. It’s been a long time coming. I think it’s good timing though, because people can hear it ready in time for the festivals over the summer. People who have got the album can go and listen and will hopefully learn the words.”
Dale: “We’re looking forward to playing gigs once it’s been released because at the minute you can see people trying to get into it live, but they can’t get involved because they don’t know the album.”
Johnny: “We’re very excited!”
mINtSOUTH: How would you describe your music?
Johnny: “That’s hard to answer because the album’s got a lot of different sounds on it. There are some bits like Silver which is like a hip hop song. It’s got its rocky moments and where it possibly sounds unintentionally mainstream – I think every band’s got songs that just naturally seem more radio friendly. There are quite a lot of experimental songs on the album which probably won’t be in the singles, so if you get the album it’s a good method of getting that side of things.”
mINtSOUTH: Bonus hidden track?
Dale: “There is a hidden track on there. It’s not hard to find, because it’s at the end.”
mINtSOUTH: In my car I’ve got a cassette player, so if I copy the CD then there’s a 20 minute gap.
Johnny: “You need to get with the times. Gramophone in your boot.”
mINtSOUTH: Can you tell me a fact about yourselves?
Johnny: “Dale’s a great spooner. We have to share a room when we go on tour. If it’s a quiet night or a cold evening, just turn to Dale.”
Dale: “Bondy is a budding saxophonist.”
Johnny: “I got given two of them, an alto sax and a tenor sax, about a month ago? Getting there.”
mINtSOUTH: What are your plans for 2010?
Johnny: “Got the festivals coming up. Two gigs at Glastonbury on the John Peel stage and then playing the Queens Head. We’ve got T In The Park and Isle of Wight, should be good.”
Dale: “We’re doing Fuji Rock as well.”
Johnny: “Very excited about that.”
Dale: “It’s going to be a 10 hour flight straight there, play the gig, and straight back.”
Johnny: “We should be doing a tour for the album at some point as well. We’re on this Q Magazine tour at the minute [with Tiffany Page and Goldhawks] which will end in a week and then we’ve got the album coming out so people are going to expect us to tour again. It’s going to be a busy year.”
mINtSOUTH: Gorilla v Bear – who would win?
Dale: “I think a bear would win. But the gorilla’s cleverer.”
Johnny: “I imagine the bear to be like the bad guy in Rocky IV, he’s all brawn and he’d just go raging in.”
Dale: “The gorilla’s got massive claws and massive teeth so I think it’s got a chance.”
Johnny: “I’m going with gorilla.”
Dale: “Deadlock!”
mINtSOUTH: I’ll give you some time to think about it...
Dale: “I want to see some CGI version of this battle now.”
Detroit Social Club
Interview and words - Suzy Sims
(c) Suzy Sims
INTERVIEW - DETROIT SOCIAL CLUB @ THE GREAT ESCAPE 2010
Dale Knight and Johnny Bond
mINtSOUTH: The Great Escape. Did you only get here today?
Johnny: “Yeah.”
Dale: “We saw a bit of Rachelle Van Zanten who was on before us, the slide guitarist from Canada. Her band were quite rootsy.”
Johnny: “We played earlier today at the Queens Hotel.”
mINtSOUTH: What about later tonight?
Johnny: “I want to see Band Of Skulls. They’re on after us, so that’s convenient.”
mINtSOUTH: What do you associate with Brighton?
Dale: “Quadrophenia. Has anyone said rock?”
Johnny: “I don’t really know much about it, I only came here when I was 10. Brighton rock and Quadrophenia, there you go.”
mINtSOUTH: What can people expect to see from you on stage?
Johnny: “We are very loud.”
mINtSOUTH: I figured that when your tour manager gave me earplugs to wear during your soundcheck.
Dale: “Some people say we’re too loud, but I don’t agree.”
Johnny: “The thing about playing live is you’re trying to get across a different side that’s not on the recordings. If you saw us but you listened to the album first, you wouldn’t expect what it sounds like live. If you saw us live first, you’d probably think the album was quite tame and sort of reserved.”
Dale: “It’s a shame when you see a band and it’s as good as the album and there’s nothing more. We try and add stuff.”
Johnny: “It makes it more interesting than just hearing it back as you do on the record.”
mINtSOUTH: Have you got any albums or releases out?
Johnny: “Our first album is out on May 31st and there’s a single, Sunshine People, before that. The album’s called Existence.”
mINtSOUTH: Looking forward to it? Has it been a long time in the making?
Johnny: “It has been a long time. We recorded it last summer, and that’s after spending a year and a half trying to find the right producer to do it. And it was put back another year. It’s been a long time coming. I think it’s good timing though, because people can hear it ready in time for the festivals over the summer. People who have got the album can go and listen and will hopefully learn the words.”
Dale: “We’re looking forward to playing gigs once it’s been released because at the minute you can see people trying to get into it live, but they can’t get involved because they don’t know the album.”
Johnny: “We’re very excited!”
mINtSOUTH: How would you describe your music?
Johnny: “That’s hard to answer because the album’s got a lot of different sounds on it. There are some bits like Silver which is like a hip hop song. It’s got its rocky moments and where it possibly sounds unintentionally mainstream – I think every band’s got songs that just naturally seem more radio friendly. There are quite a lot of experimental songs on the album which probably won’t be in the singles, so if you get the album it’s a good method of getting that side of things.”
mINtSOUTH: Bonus hidden track?
Dale: “There is a hidden track on there. It’s not hard to find, because it’s at the end.”
mINtSOUTH: In my car I’ve got a cassette player, so if I copy the CD then there’s a 20 minute gap.
Johnny: “You need to get with the times. Gramophone in your boot.”
mINtSOUTH: Can you tell me a fact about yourselves?
Johnny: “Dale’s a great spooner. We have to share a room when we go on tour. If it’s a quiet night or a cold evening, just turn to Dale.”
Dale: “Bondy is a budding saxophonist.”
Johnny: “I got given two of them, an alto sax and a tenor sax, about a month ago? Getting there.”
mINtSOUTH: What are your plans for 2010?
Johnny: “Got the festivals coming up. Two gigs at Glastonbury on the John Peel stage and then playing the Queens Head. We’ve got T In The Park and Isle of Wight, should be good.”
Dale: “We’re doing Fuji Rock as well.”
Johnny: “Very excited about that.”
Dale: “It’s going to be a 10 hour flight straight there, play the gig, and straight back.”
Johnny: “We should be doing a tour for the album at some point as well. We’re on this Q Magazine tour at the minute [with Tiffany Page and Goldhawks] which will end in a week and then we’ve got the album coming out so people are going to expect us to tour again. It’s going to be a busy year.”
mINtSOUTH: Gorilla v Bear – who would win?
Dale: “I think a bear would win. But the gorilla’s cleverer.”
Johnny: “I imagine the bear to be like the bad guy in Rocky IV, he’s all brawn and he’d just go raging in.”
Dale: “The gorilla’s got massive claws and massive teeth so I think it’s got a chance.”
Johnny: “I’m going with gorilla.”
Dale: “Deadlock!”
mINtSOUTH: I’ll give you some time to think about it...
Dale: “I want to see some CGI version of this battle now.”
Detroit Social Club
Interview - Pulled Apart By Horses @ Great Escape 2010
Previously published on mINtSOUTH.com in June 2010
Words - Suzy Sims
(c) mINtSOUTH.com
INTERVIEW - PULLED APART BY HORSES @THE GREAT ESCAPE 2010
We first spot Pulled Apart By Horses – Tom (vocals / guitar), Robert (bass), James (guitar), minus Lee (drums) who’s on paternity leave - as they’re sneaking around Brighton Dome, attempting to catch The Cribs in mid-soundcheck. When this fails, we lead them to sit in the park, surrounded by happy toddlers and a man playing the bongos in the near distance. It’s perfectly summery, outdoor beer weather. Let the interview begin:
mINtSOUTH: This is probably going to be the least professional interview you’ve had all day.
PABH: “We’ll we’re the least professional band in the world, so it’ll be fine!”
mINtSOUTH: Can you tell us a fact about yourselves?
Tom: “Robert John Lee - his original name is Robot John Lee, and he’s actually a robot that was made in the mid Nineties. And he runs on oil.”
Rob: “And I was not a body double, but the actual actor that played Robocop.”
James: “You can see the jaw structure there, look. If you shaved Rob’s hair, he’s got a metal helmet.”
mINtSOUTH: The Great Escape... Are you going to have time to stick around and see many bands?
Tom: “It’s really hard because we’re playing at 9 and there’s a few bands we want to see that are all around that sort of time. It’s really annoying.”
James: “We’re really good friends with Blood Red Shoes. They go on at half nine and we go on at quarter past. But we’re going to run over and say hi.”
Rob: “I really want to watch the Cribs. We can get away with it now because normally if Lee was here, our drummer, he’d probably hit us.”
James: “There’s Chickenhawk, they’re playing today. Try and catch them.”
Tom: “The Great Escape’s awesome. Although last time we played it was such a blur. We played at the Sallis Benney at 7pm, and then played the Pav Tav at 12am to a load of drunk people whilst being drunk ourselves, and then the next day played The Hope at 12pm still drunk. By that point we were just on the edge, we had just completely lost it but that added to it.”
James: “Because it was the first time we’d done Great Escape and been down here for it, i think we were having a little bit too much fun as well. There wasn’t much sleep had last year, but a lot of drinking, staying up.”
mINtSOUTH: What can people expect to see from the Pulled Apart By Hoses live experience?
Rob: “There’s the obvious bits which is sweat, sometimes blood. Sick doesn’t happen anymore.”
Tom “Well it does occasionally rear its head.”
Rob: “If you eat an hour before you go on. James usually adds to his collection of knee injuries [James shows off a horrifying bruised scab]
Tom: “That started off with seven stitches. And then we played a couple of gigs at the Camden Crawl.”
James: “There’s only 3 left now. This occurs regularly.”
Tom: “He’s got the knees of a cheap prostitute, from the amount of times he’s landed on them. We are a live band like, since day one we’ve just toured relentlessly and played about 400 gigs in the space of about two years.”
mINtSOUTH: I saw you a couple of times last year, when you were at Southampton Joiners and there was a lot of jumping into the crowd.
Tom: “It’s kind of like unplanned chaos, and that’s the fun of it, Just wait to see what happens and go with the flow. One thing is about Brighton, for a few of the first gigs we played here we realised the crowd are a bit too cool for school sometimes, like everyone just stands there at the back. But last year it was a lot better. It’s probably because people didn’t know us then.”
mINtSOUTH: I think Portsmouth can be worse, you get people stood there arms folded not clapping.
James: “I think it was the Wedgewood Rooms - that was a strange one.”
Tom: “Everyone’s just standing there and you’re like ‘Oh god, this is awful, everyone hates it,’ and then people come up to you after and they’re like ‘Oh that was amazing, we really loved it.’ And you’re like. shake a leg then, go on!”
Rob: “Like Tom said before it’s a case of how the crowd interaction and getting in the crowd is because we consider the crowd to be as much part of the band as we are. A lot of people know the end riff we generally finish on so we’ve had a lot of different people just get onstage. Sometimes if we’re on tour with a band or we’ve got a tech we haven’t used before, we’re like ‘Right, you’re playing.’ We did it in Europe with Blood Red Shoes. Laura-Mary and Steven got up to play at the end of ‘I Punched A Lion’... and Laura said she was more nervous to do that than to actually play the gig herself. I jumped over with my bass like ‘LET’S ROCK OUT! WOOO!’ And she was like ‘Aaargh!’ The other thing we were going to say, we hate that whole idea of there being a barrier between the crowd and the band.”
Tom: “I fucking hate barriers.”
mINtSOUTH: The thing is, the more famous you get, the bigger the gap.
Tom: “I remember we played at Audio with Sky Larkin and it was just a crappy barrier that was set up. I opened it up and then this guy came and shut it, so we ended up pushing it on the floor.”
James: “He was furious, that guy.”
mINtSOUTH snapper Rob: "From a photographer’s point of view, I do like the barriers."
Tom: “That makes sense. Well it’s not going to keep you safe with us lot. We’ll just climb all over it.”
mINtSOUTH: What are your plans for 2010?
Tom: “We’ve got some big plans actually. The first single is coming out on June 14th and we filmed an Evil Dead style rip-off music video for it, and the album comes out a little bit after that.”
Rob: “We’re doing PukkelPop in Belgium so that’s going to be ace.”
PABH: “What else is there – Glastonbury, Truck, Heavy Fest.”
Rob: “{Offset} is pencilled in.”
James: “It was really good though last year.”
Tom: “Although between the main stage and where the crowd were, it felt like it was about a mile. When we were playing I jumped off the stage and I was going to try and get to the crowd and it took me like forever. I was just like, yeah I’m getting there! I’m getting there! And by the time I got there, I couldn’t even sing.”
James: “I think after the summer there’s talk of us doing another tour but maybe a bit bigger than this one we’re doing in June.”
Rob: “And working on album number two. We can’t wait to get another album out.”
mINtSOUTH: Album.
Rob: “I misread that as All Bum first.”
Tom: “It’s self-titled. We were thinking of things to call it and we looked at the song title list and it was like no, our songs are too ridiculously titled.”
Rob: “When we sometimes write out the setlist and we can’t be bothered to write out the full length of the songs, it’ll just say stuff like Fuck, Crap, Meat, Hammer, High Five...”
James: “You get people picking the setlist up off the stage and being like ‘What?’”
Tom: “We [recorded the album] just after Leeds Fest. We had a tiny slot to just bang it out really, but that was the best way for it because we weren’t too precious about it, we just wanted to capture it. We did it in eight days in James Kenosha’s recording studios in Bridlington. Lived off microwave lasagnes from Tesco, and went nuts basically."
James: “I keep on saying it’s like a document of the past two years of being on the road.”
Rob: “And with it being our introduction to the record buying public – all two of them – we want to make it an honest account of what we sound like live and as a band and it’s really kind of stripped back.”
mINtSOUTH Have you gone for any special vinyl editions?
James: “I was adamant it’s got to be on heavyweight vinyl.”
Tom: “We got 11 different artists, some are our friends and some are artists we just really loved, and got them to illustrate each song from the album with the lyrics. Should be a nice little package to hopefully persuade people into buying the album.”
Rob: “It’s a nice thing to own. They’re probably going to download it anyway.”
mINtSOUTH: But they shouldn’t?
Tom: “Depends what you do with it. I download stuff then if I really like it I’ll get it on vinyl anyway, just to have the artwork at the correct size.”
James: “If you download all their stuff, you should go and watch them live. Or buy a t shirt, or a single if you’re skint.”
Tom: “I hope that’s the way that people do it now. I think you get a lot of kids, it’s really good that they’re getting into music that they wouldn’t normally just because it’s available for them, but at the same time I think that the new generation of kids just take it for granted now. They’ll just download the crap out of anything.”
Rob: “You’ve got to look for the positives of it. I guess it puts a lot of emphasis on live bands now which has done us a lot of favours. I should probably go and reintroduce myself to my friends and family at some point.”
Tom: “Say sorry to our girlfriends.”
mINtSOUTH: What do you associate with Brighton?
Rob: “Music, playing gigs, getting very drunk and not being able to remember most of it, but knowing that I should go back because I did really enjoy it... but not being able to quite remember what I enjoyed.”
mINtSOUTH: The more tattoos the better the drummer? Discuss. This was more one for Lee who’s not here.
Tom: “Lee’s like the fastest drummer in the world.”
Rob: “I would say that tattoos and drummers go hand in hand, but our drummer’s only got one hand.”
James: “He was born with a kind of disfigured hand. He’s got missing fingers and half a thumb. He’s got this tattoo and it’s amazing.”
Rob: “One says LOVE on his fingers, and the other says NO ROOM FOR HATE. What it should say is, PENTHOUSE SUITE FOR HATE WITH CHOCOLATES ON THE PILLOWS. He’s an angry motherfucker. But we love him.”
Tom: “I think it gives us a bit more credibility. Like the only thing I’ve got on my body is hair and moles. It looks a bit more interesting when you see some colourful ink on someone’s skin.”
James: “And it’s cool because his tattoos are a document of his life. He doesn’t get them for fashion reasons or anything like that.”
mINtSOUTH: Final one. Gorilla Vs Bear – who would win in a fight?
Rob: “That’s what we’re talking about!”
James: “I think it might be the bear. The bear’s going to be a lot taller.”
Tom: “Maybe a bear that hasn’t eaten for a little bit. Angry dudes, aren’t they.”
Rob: “It depends what context you’re in, because if you’re talking like Yogi Bear versus King Kong, he’s got no chance. King Kong’s got him. I think bear, hands down.”
James: “Bear wins. Gorilla dead.”
Pulled Apart By Horses
Words - Suzy Sims
(c) mINtSOUTH.com
INTERVIEW - PULLED APART BY HORSES @THE GREAT ESCAPE 2010
We first spot Pulled Apart By Horses – Tom (vocals / guitar), Robert (bass), James (guitar), minus Lee (drums) who’s on paternity leave - as they’re sneaking around Brighton Dome, attempting to catch The Cribs in mid-soundcheck. When this fails, we lead them to sit in the park, surrounded by happy toddlers and a man playing the bongos in the near distance. It’s perfectly summery, outdoor beer weather. Let the interview begin:
mINtSOUTH: This is probably going to be the least professional interview you’ve had all day.
PABH: “We’ll we’re the least professional band in the world, so it’ll be fine!”
mINtSOUTH: Can you tell us a fact about yourselves?
Tom: “Robert John Lee - his original name is Robot John Lee, and he’s actually a robot that was made in the mid Nineties. And he runs on oil.”
Rob: “And I was not a body double, but the actual actor that played Robocop.”
James: “You can see the jaw structure there, look. If you shaved Rob’s hair, he’s got a metal helmet.”
mINtSOUTH: The Great Escape... Are you going to have time to stick around and see many bands?
Tom: “It’s really hard because we’re playing at 9 and there’s a few bands we want to see that are all around that sort of time. It’s really annoying.”
James: “We’re really good friends with Blood Red Shoes. They go on at half nine and we go on at quarter past. But we’re going to run over and say hi.”
Rob: “I really want to watch the Cribs. We can get away with it now because normally if Lee was here, our drummer, he’d probably hit us.”
James: “There’s Chickenhawk, they’re playing today. Try and catch them.”
Tom: “The Great Escape’s awesome. Although last time we played it was such a blur. We played at the Sallis Benney at 7pm, and then played the Pav Tav at 12am to a load of drunk people whilst being drunk ourselves, and then the next day played The Hope at 12pm still drunk. By that point we were just on the edge, we had just completely lost it but that added to it.”
James: “Because it was the first time we’d done Great Escape and been down here for it, i think we were having a little bit too much fun as well. There wasn’t much sleep had last year, but a lot of drinking, staying up.”
mINtSOUTH: What can people expect to see from the Pulled Apart By Hoses live experience?
Rob: “There’s the obvious bits which is sweat, sometimes blood. Sick doesn’t happen anymore.”
Tom “Well it does occasionally rear its head.”
Rob: “If you eat an hour before you go on. James usually adds to his collection of knee injuries [James shows off a horrifying bruised scab]
Tom: “That started off with seven stitches. And then we played a couple of gigs at the Camden Crawl.”
James: “There’s only 3 left now. This occurs regularly.”
Tom: “He’s got the knees of a cheap prostitute, from the amount of times he’s landed on them. We are a live band like, since day one we’ve just toured relentlessly and played about 400 gigs in the space of about two years.”
mINtSOUTH: I saw you a couple of times last year, when you were at Southampton Joiners and there was a lot of jumping into the crowd.
Tom: “It’s kind of like unplanned chaos, and that’s the fun of it, Just wait to see what happens and go with the flow. One thing is about Brighton, for a few of the first gigs we played here we realised the crowd are a bit too cool for school sometimes, like everyone just stands there at the back. But last year it was a lot better. It’s probably because people didn’t know us then.”
mINtSOUTH: I think Portsmouth can be worse, you get people stood there arms folded not clapping.
James: “I think it was the Wedgewood Rooms - that was a strange one.”
Tom: “Everyone’s just standing there and you’re like ‘Oh god, this is awful, everyone hates it,’ and then people come up to you after and they’re like ‘Oh that was amazing, we really loved it.’ And you’re like. shake a leg then, go on!”
Rob: “Like Tom said before it’s a case of how the crowd interaction and getting in the crowd is because we consider the crowd to be as much part of the band as we are. A lot of people know the end riff we generally finish on so we’ve had a lot of different people just get onstage. Sometimes if we’re on tour with a band or we’ve got a tech we haven’t used before, we’re like ‘Right, you’re playing.’ We did it in Europe with Blood Red Shoes. Laura-Mary and Steven got up to play at the end of ‘I Punched A Lion’... and Laura said she was more nervous to do that than to actually play the gig herself. I jumped over with my bass like ‘LET’S ROCK OUT! WOOO!’ And she was like ‘Aaargh!’ The other thing we were going to say, we hate that whole idea of there being a barrier between the crowd and the band.”
Tom: “I fucking hate barriers.”
mINtSOUTH: The thing is, the more famous you get, the bigger the gap.
Tom: “I remember we played at Audio with Sky Larkin and it was just a crappy barrier that was set up. I opened it up and then this guy came and shut it, so we ended up pushing it on the floor.”
James: “He was furious, that guy.”
mINtSOUTH snapper Rob: "From a photographer’s point of view, I do like the barriers."
Tom: “That makes sense. Well it’s not going to keep you safe with us lot. We’ll just climb all over it.”
mINtSOUTH: What are your plans for 2010?
Tom: “We’ve got some big plans actually. The first single is coming out on June 14th and we filmed an Evil Dead style rip-off music video for it, and the album comes out a little bit after that.”
Rob: “We’re doing PukkelPop in Belgium so that’s going to be ace.”
PABH: “What else is there – Glastonbury, Truck, Heavy Fest.”
Rob: “{Offset} is pencilled in.”
James: “It was really good though last year.”
Tom: “Although between the main stage and where the crowd were, it felt like it was about a mile. When we were playing I jumped off the stage and I was going to try and get to the crowd and it took me like forever. I was just like, yeah I’m getting there! I’m getting there! And by the time I got there, I couldn’t even sing.”
James: “I think after the summer there’s talk of us doing another tour but maybe a bit bigger than this one we’re doing in June.”
Rob: “And working on album number two. We can’t wait to get another album out.”
mINtSOUTH: Album.
Rob: “I misread that as All Bum first.”
Tom: “It’s self-titled. We were thinking of things to call it and we looked at the song title list and it was like no, our songs are too ridiculously titled.”
Rob: “When we sometimes write out the setlist and we can’t be bothered to write out the full length of the songs, it’ll just say stuff like Fuck, Crap, Meat, Hammer, High Five...”
James: “You get people picking the setlist up off the stage and being like ‘What?’”
Tom: “We [recorded the album] just after Leeds Fest. We had a tiny slot to just bang it out really, but that was the best way for it because we weren’t too precious about it, we just wanted to capture it. We did it in eight days in James Kenosha’s recording studios in Bridlington. Lived off microwave lasagnes from Tesco, and went nuts basically."
James: “I keep on saying it’s like a document of the past two years of being on the road.”
Rob: “And with it being our introduction to the record buying public – all two of them – we want to make it an honest account of what we sound like live and as a band and it’s really kind of stripped back.”
mINtSOUTH Have you gone for any special vinyl editions?
James: “I was adamant it’s got to be on heavyweight vinyl.”
Tom: “We got 11 different artists, some are our friends and some are artists we just really loved, and got them to illustrate each song from the album with the lyrics. Should be a nice little package to hopefully persuade people into buying the album.”
Rob: “It’s a nice thing to own. They’re probably going to download it anyway.”
mINtSOUTH: But they shouldn’t?
Tom: “Depends what you do with it. I download stuff then if I really like it I’ll get it on vinyl anyway, just to have the artwork at the correct size.”
James: “If you download all their stuff, you should go and watch them live. Or buy a t shirt, or a single if you’re skint.”
Tom: “I hope that’s the way that people do it now. I think you get a lot of kids, it’s really good that they’re getting into music that they wouldn’t normally just because it’s available for them, but at the same time I think that the new generation of kids just take it for granted now. They’ll just download the crap out of anything.”
Rob: “You’ve got to look for the positives of it. I guess it puts a lot of emphasis on live bands now which has done us a lot of favours. I should probably go and reintroduce myself to my friends and family at some point.”
Tom: “Say sorry to our girlfriends.”
mINtSOUTH: What do you associate with Brighton?
Rob: “Music, playing gigs, getting very drunk and not being able to remember most of it, but knowing that I should go back because I did really enjoy it... but not being able to quite remember what I enjoyed.”
mINtSOUTH: The more tattoos the better the drummer? Discuss. This was more one for Lee who’s not here.
Tom: “Lee’s like the fastest drummer in the world.”
Rob: “I would say that tattoos and drummers go hand in hand, but our drummer’s only got one hand.”
James: “He was born with a kind of disfigured hand. He’s got missing fingers and half a thumb. He’s got this tattoo and it’s amazing.”
Rob: “One says LOVE on his fingers, and the other says NO ROOM FOR HATE. What it should say is, PENTHOUSE SUITE FOR HATE WITH CHOCOLATES ON THE PILLOWS. He’s an angry motherfucker. But we love him.”
Tom: “I think it gives us a bit more credibility. Like the only thing I’ve got on my body is hair and moles. It looks a bit more interesting when you see some colourful ink on someone’s skin.”
James: “And it’s cool because his tattoos are a document of his life. He doesn’t get them for fashion reasons or anything like that.”
mINtSOUTH: Final one. Gorilla Vs Bear – who would win in a fight?
Rob: “That’s what we’re talking about!”
James: “I think it might be the bear. The bear’s going to be a lot taller.”
Tom: “Maybe a bear that hasn’t eaten for a little bit. Angry dudes, aren’t they.”
Rob: “It depends what context you’re in, because if you’re talking like Yogi Bear versus King Kong, he’s got no chance. King Kong’s got him. I think bear, hands down.”
James: “Bear wins. Gorilla dead.”
Pulled Apart By Horses
Diary - The Great Escape, Brighton 2010 - Part 2
Previously published on mINtSOUTH.com in May 2010
Words - Suzy Sims
(c) mINtSOUTH.com
DIARY - THE GREAT ESCAPE, BIGHTON 2010 - PART 2
FRI 13th MAY
Good morning, Day Two. We ease ourselves into the day with some Coco Pops and a bit of Alternative Escape at The Latest Music Bar. Tim and Sam’s Tim and the Sam Band With Tim and Sam are first onstage, looking nervous beneath the lights in their matching blue shirts. It’s a gentle start to the day with delicately crafted, looping tunes.
Next on are The Momeraths, a band created from tea and gingham and possibly knitted by someone’s aunt. They’re jaunty and poppy and have some charming flags across the stage announcing who they are. The Momeraths are definitely one of the most cheerful-sounding bands of the weekend.
mINtSOUTH stops off for a quick chat with the two bands before legging it upstairs to the Fortune of War, where Everything Everything are playing a stripped down, three song surprise set. It’s not really a surprise judging from the number of people crammed upstairs, casting resentful looks at each other as the simmering tunes play on. I’m a fan of Everything Everything’s unexpected key changes, and everything has a nice beachy sound to it.
The evening starts with a few beers and a march along the pier, past the sweet smell of doughnuts and waffles hanging in the air, past the seagulls and the tarot readers, to join everyone piling into Horatio’s for the hotly anticipated NME night. Best Coast kick off first. My friend told me they are amazing. Tim and Sam’s tour manager told me they were rubbish. I kind of sided with him. The general sound was good but there wasn’t much variation in the songs they played – it could have been the same one over and over; sort of garage, surf rock. Best Coast are a little afraid of playing a show out on the end of the pier. “It’s pretty scary. It fucking moves!”
Meanwhile the young ‘uns in the crowd are obviously busy trying to be hip in case they end up with a vox pop in NME. “iPhone knows what’s up. I trust iPhone,” blathered someone as I passed.
Warpaint are cool, mysterious, memorable, with many instrumental breaks, with an arty, psychedelic swagger to boot. Although their recorded stuff sounds effortless, they are more strident live and create some sort of a sonic labyrinth. I also very much enjoyed the revitalising Egyptian Hip Hop, with their hot punchy basslines and plinky synths. On coming back from the toilet I suddenly realised I was in the Eighties, in a very stylish way, but in the Eighties nevertheless.
It’s then time to trek across the city with aching feet, but it’s worth it for a nice sit down and a bottled lemonade at the Duke of York’s Picturehouse. We time this well enough to catch Alessi’s Ark and Peggy Sue without having to cram into the aisles, like most of the watchers. Young Alessi has a beautifully rounded and quirky voice full of kindness but she looks absolutely petrified of being up on stage. Everyone loves Peggy Sue, though I think they’ve been hyped up a bit too much. Rose and Katy are cooler than cool, with their lipstick and tousled hair and funky hat. Both acts bring out the alt-folk love; delicately constructed tunes with real heart.
And so ends Day Two of the Great Escape for mINtSOUTH. The danger with putting on late night gigs in a cinema is that those people who didn’t go to sleep until 5am (us) tend to start nodding off in the chairs, so alas we had to leave slightly early. Plenty of time to refresh for Day Three...
Words - Suzy Sims
(c) mINtSOUTH.com
DIARY - THE GREAT ESCAPE, BIGHTON 2010 - PART 2
FRI 13th MAY
Good morning, Day Two. We ease ourselves into the day with some Coco Pops and a bit of Alternative Escape at The Latest Music Bar. Tim and Sam’s Tim and the Sam Band With Tim and Sam are first onstage, looking nervous beneath the lights in their matching blue shirts. It’s a gentle start to the day with delicately crafted, looping tunes.
Next on are The Momeraths, a band created from tea and gingham and possibly knitted by someone’s aunt. They’re jaunty and poppy and have some charming flags across the stage announcing who they are. The Momeraths are definitely one of the most cheerful-sounding bands of the weekend.
mINtSOUTH stops off for a quick chat with the two bands before legging it upstairs to the Fortune of War, where Everything Everything are playing a stripped down, three song surprise set. It’s not really a surprise judging from the number of people crammed upstairs, casting resentful looks at each other as the simmering tunes play on. I’m a fan of Everything Everything’s unexpected key changes, and everything has a nice beachy sound to it.
The evening starts with a few beers and a march along the pier, past the sweet smell of doughnuts and waffles hanging in the air, past the seagulls and the tarot readers, to join everyone piling into Horatio’s for the hotly anticipated NME night. Best Coast kick off first. My friend told me they are amazing. Tim and Sam’s tour manager told me they were rubbish. I kind of sided with him. The general sound was good but there wasn’t much variation in the songs they played – it could have been the same one over and over; sort of garage, surf rock. Best Coast are a little afraid of playing a show out on the end of the pier. “It’s pretty scary. It fucking moves!”
Meanwhile the young ‘uns in the crowd are obviously busy trying to be hip in case they end up with a vox pop in NME. “iPhone knows what’s up. I trust iPhone,” blathered someone as I passed.
Warpaint are cool, mysterious, memorable, with many instrumental breaks, with an arty, psychedelic swagger to boot. Although their recorded stuff sounds effortless, they are more strident live and create some sort of a sonic labyrinth. I also very much enjoyed the revitalising Egyptian Hip Hop, with their hot punchy basslines and plinky synths. On coming back from the toilet I suddenly realised I was in the Eighties, in a very stylish way, but in the Eighties nevertheless.
It’s then time to trek across the city with aching feet, but it’s worth it for a nice sit down and a bottled lemonade at the Duke of York’s Picturehouse. We time this well enough to catch Alessi’s Ark and Peggy Sue without having to cram into the aisles, like most of the watchers. Young Alessi has a beautifully rounded and quirky voice full of kindness but she looks absolutely petrified of being up on stage. Everyone loves Peggy Sue, though I think they’ve been hyped up a bit too much. Rose and Katy are cooler than cool, with their lipstick and tousled hair and funky hat. Both acts bring out the alt-folk love; delicately constructed tunes with real heart.
And so ends Day Two of the Great Escape for mINtSOUTH. The danger with putting on late night gigs in a cinema is that those people who didn’t go to sleep until 5am (us) tend to start nodding off in the chairs, so alas we had to leave slightly early. Plenty of time to refresh for Day Three...
Diary - The Great Escape, Brighton 2010 - Part 1
Originally published on mINtSOUTH.com in May 2010
Words: Suzy Sims
(c) mINtSOUTH.com
DIARY - THE GREAT ESCAPE, BRIGHTON 2010 - PART 1
THURS 12th MAY
BRIGHTON. Beautiful, seasidey, hip and trendy Brighton. Once again the Great Escape is upon us. Three days of much music and not enough sleep lie straight ahead.
We arrive in the city just in time to sit down in the sun for a chat with a very buoyant Pulled Apart By Horses. Then follows some time spent doing Media Things, such as checking out the available space in the press area, working out who’s covering what on the extensive schedule, and wondering if there is any free lager hidden in one of the side rooms (There was. And even better, there was cake too).
“We are Funeral Party. And you are the audience,” announce the band performing in front of the Doughnut, one of the Relentless Street Gig venues for the weekend. The sun is shining and as it’s early, many wristbanders opt to stay on the beach to listen to the perfectly fiddly synths. One girl nips over to take a photograph. She has a £3.49 bottle of cider poking out of her satchel. The band finishes by hurling their tambourine into the waves behind. The music is pretty good though, and promised more top times for the rest of the weekend.
It’s then time to locate Jam in time for Hungry Kids Of Hungary, whose melodies are sundrenched and juicy, with a definite Sixties vibe. They provide a bright and refreshing start to the night. Someone in the crowd is trying to impersonate an Irish accent – which was a little bit out, seeing as the band are actually from Australia. (Insert Family Fortunes incorrect buzzer here).
HKoH is followed by the carefree and optimistic sounds of Pearl & The Puppets, whose music seems poised to soundtrack something indie hip like The Inbetweeners. Unfortunately mINtSOUTH’s reviewer is unable to see either band due to the anti-paparazzi fug emanating from the smoke machine, and the fact that we are a good two foot shorter than everyone else. However both bands sound very enjoyable and easy to warm to.
Skipping along the seafront, we eventually come to Concorde 2. The bar staff are gawping at a screen showing something unusual taking place in the main hall. In neon headdresses and flowing robes, female choir Gaggle are doing their best to hypnotise the crowd by singing in rounds... singing in rounds... singing in rounds, about nasty men and the like. The rockers in the crowd look confused and slightly disorientated, apart from one man in leather trousers who is doing some bizarre dance with his gloved hands, like he’s trying to roll a pea deftly along his arm and fingers without dropping it. Gaggle are entertaining if you like fancy dress and musical theatre. I don’t.
Thankfully a few minutes later, Pulled Apart By Horses stride onto the stage to let launch some shouting and heavy rock. There’s sweat, swearing and a distinct lack of shirts. The crowd are bobbing their heads and enjoying the banter. We have a stand in drummer tonight as the usual tattooed one is at home for family reasons, however he does a fine job of keeping up with their mighty pace.
Then it’s onto The Walkmen... oh no, it’s not. Stranded somewhere that’s not Brighton due to the volcanic ash, the band are instead replaced by Little Comets, who turn out to be one of the highlights of my festival weekend. I heard Adultery on MySpace a couple of years ago and found it slightly annoying. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Little Comets are oozing summer elements and plenty of singalong opportunities. Their instruments / stage gear also includes a saucepan, and a very strange shaped thing that some guy keeps hilariously yelling “ARMADILLO!” while pointing at it. “From up here, it sounds like you’re saying ‘I’m a dildo’,” the band counter drily. They sound like indie pop with a bit of ska and it’s all very splendid and danceable.
The evening takes a downward turn as I head to Fionn Regan’s show at the Terraces. He’s really good, so people keep saying. I hadn’t really paid much attention to the programme and thought I was listening out for a Fiona, so my bad. His set was wholesome folk fun, spoilt somewhat by the noise in the venue, as people couldn’t see anything more than six rows back so weren’t bothering to listen either. Regan tried saying “Shhh,” but that was never really going to work. It was too crowded to hear any banter or nuances in the music. The final track really picked up speed, but by this point it was too little too late to get my attention.
The evening finished as all good evenings do – by befriending a tramp. Shaun likes to stand outside music bars and listen to bands play songs by The Libertines. He especially likes it if they wave at him. If you see Shaun, say hi.
Words: Suzy Sims
(c) mINtSOUTH.com
DIARY - THE GREAT ESCAPE, BRIGHTON 2010 - PART 1
THURS 12th MAY
BRIGHTON. Beautiful, seasidey, hip and trendy Brighton. Once again the Great Escape is upon us. Three days of much music and not enough sleep lie straight ahead.
We arrive in the city just in time to sit down in the sun for a chat with a very buoyant Pulled Apart By Horses. Then follows some time spent doing Media Things, such as checking out the available space in the press area, working out who’s covering what on the extensive schedule, and wondering if there is any free lager hidden in one of the side rooms (There was. And even better, there was cake too).
“We are Funeral Party. And you are the audience,” announce the band performing in front of the Doughnut, one of the Relentless Street Gig venues for the weekend. The sun is shining and as it’s early, many wristbanders opt to stay on the beach to listen to the perfectly fiddly synths. One girl nips over to take a photograph. She has a £3.49 bottle of cider poking out of her satchel. The band finishes by hurling their tambourine into the waves behind. The music is pretty good though, and promised more top times for the rest of the weekend.
It’s then time to locate Jam in time for Hungry Kids Of Hungary, whose melodies are sundrenched and juicy, with a definite Sixties vibe. They provide a bright and refreshing start to the night. Someone in the crowd is trying to impersonate an Irish accent – which was a little bit out, seeing as the band are actually from Australia. (Insert Family Fortunes incorrect buzzer here).
HKoH is followed by the carefree and optimistic sounds of Pearl & The Puppets, whose music seems poised to soundtrack something indie hip like The Inbetweeners. Unfortunately mINtSOUTH’s reviewer is unable to see either band due to the anti-paparazzi fug emanating from the smoke machine, and the fact that we are a good two foot shorter than everyone else. However both bands sound very enjoyable and easy to warm to.
Skipping along the seafront, we eventually come to Concorde 2. The bar staff are gawping at a screen showing something unusual taking place in the main hall. In neon headdresses and flowing robes, female choir Gaggle are doing their best to hypnotise the crowd by singing in rounds... singing in rounds... singing in rounds, about nasty men and the like. The rockers in the crowd look confused and slightly disorientated, apart from one man in leather trousers who is doing some bizarre dance with his gloved hands, like he’s trying to roll a pea deftly along his arm and fingers without dropping it. Gaggle are entertaining if you like fancy dress and musical theatre. I don’t.
Thankfully a few minutes later, Pulled Apart By Horses stride onto the stage to let launch some shouting and heavy rock. There’s sweat, swearing and a distinct lack of shirts. The crowd are bobbing their heads and enjoying the banter. We have a stand in drummer tonight as the usual tattooed one is at home for family reasons, however he does a fine job of keeping up with their mighty pace.
Then it’s onto The Walkmen... oh no, it’s not. Stranded somewhere that’s not Brighton due to the volcanic ash, the band are instead replaced by Little Comets, who turn out to be one of the highlights of my festival weekend. I heard Adultery on MySpace a couple of years ago and found it slightly annoying. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Little Comets are oozing summer elements and plenty of singalong opportunities. Their instruments / stage gear also includes a saucepan, and a very strange shaped thing that some guy keeps hilariously yelling “ARMADILLO!” while pointing at it. “From up here, it sounds like you’re saying ‘I’m a dildo’,” the band counter drily. They sound like indie pop with a bit of ska and it’s all very splendid and danceable.
The evening takes a downward turn as I head to Fionn Regan’s show at the Terraces. He’s really good, so people keep saying. I hadn’t really paid much attention to the programme and thought I was listening out for a Fiona, so my bad. His set was wholesome folk fun, spoilt somewhat by the noise in the venue, as people couldn’t see anything more than six rows back so weren’t bothering to listen either. Regan tried saying “Shhh,” but that was never really going to work. It was too crowded to hear any banter or nuances in the music. The final track really picked up speed, but by this point it was too little too late to get my attention.
The evening finished as all good evenings do – by befriending a tramp. Shaun likes to stand outside music bars and listen to bands play songs by The Libertines. He especially likes it if they wave at him. If you see Shaun, say hi.
Monday, 5 October 2009
Intervew - Thomas Tantrum @ The Great Escape
I do enjoy a bit of Thomas Tantrum... very colourful sounding music. The first time I saw them play they looked oddly familiar but I couldn't place them... got very confused until I realised I'd been in A Level Communication Studies (yes, it's a real qualification) with the bassist. I got a C. He joined a fantastic band. I think we all know who won that one.
First published on mintsouth.com in May 2009
Words - Suzy Sims
Editor - Rob Ball
(c) mintsouth.com
THOMAS TANTRUM @ BRIGHTON'S GREAT ESCAPE 2009
The skies are grey above Brighton. We’ve rounded up a few of Southampton art-punk-poppers Thomas Tantrum and herded them outside. David Miatt (guitar), Jim Shivers (bass) and new recruit Dave Wade Brown (drums) are stood round the back of the Thistle Hotel underneath the canopy. The Great Escape is in full swing and there are various delegates and musicians sat on the hotel steps smoking or taking in the fresh (damp) air.
Dave M: “The worst thing about the rain is you wear stupid footwear and your socks just get soaked, it’s really uncomfortable.”
Jim: “Someone’s got to be doing promotional umbrellas or something…”
Dave, how are you fitting into the band?
Dave W: “Yeah, really well. At first it was kind of like ‘What do I do?’ a little bit. But I think now we’ve been playing for about a month and a half together and a lot of writing and rehearsing and stuff and it’s really coming together.”
Have you played The Great Escape before?
Jim: “Yes. Played last year in the Waterfront, but it’s gone now. I think they have renamed it.”
They should get rid of Concorde 2, that’s ten miles away.
Jim: “Or they should just move it, just drag it in.”
Dave M: “We were considering doing a guerrilla gig but our singer’s not getting here ‘til tomorrow, so we could maybe have a jam on the street under a different name. It’s probably a bit too late now. Could do a bit of busking because we’re quite broke.”
Have you been to see many bands already so far?
Jim: “Last night, who did we collectively see... Pulled Apart By Horses, and Dave went to see Evan Dando and was not disappointed.”
Dave M: ”Well I was a bit disappointed, he didn’t say anything and he was just going through the motions. It’s because he’s teetotal and he’s married and he doesn’t give a shit. He could have at least made some funny quips. He just looks really bored.”
Jim: “So I’ve classed him now as the new Ryan Adams.”
Dave W: “Sorry Evan. You’re cool really.”
Who are you off to see tonight?
Jim: “We’ve got a bit of a dilemma at 10’o’clock between Screaming Tea Party, Holy Fuck and Times New Viking.”
Isn’t Holy Fuck a DJ set?
Jim: “They’re playing as well, after Metronomy. I’ve seen Metronomy before and they’re pretty good.”
Are there any local-ish bands you’re looking to catch?
Dave M: “The only band I’ve noticed who are from Southampton is called Jazica but I’ve never had the chance to really check them out before. I didn’t realise that Fresh Legs were playing actually. Oh shit they played already.”
Dave W: “They’re getting better, every time I’ve seen them they’re just getting better.”
What festivals are you playing this summer?
Dave M: “We’re doing Summerfield, Blissfields, Sellindge.”
Jim: “A new festival in Belfast. The name is unknown, should be quite fun.”
Are you doing Bestival again?
Jim: “Not yet, hopefully we’ll get a spot.”
Dave M: “As soon as we release something, we’ll probably get more offers coming in.”
What else have Thomas Tantrum got planned over the next couple of months?
Dave M: “Hopefully releasing a single soon but before we come back and tour again we want to build up even more songs, maybe even an album’s worth. We’ve already started recording, we’ve got a new song called Sleep which is a candidate for the new single, but it’s early days yet.”
Talk about sleep, are you getting much this weekend? Jim: “Oh no, no.” How are you feeling today? “OK now actually.”
Dave M: “I went to the shop and I got these guarana seeds. They put the active ingredient in Red Bull and stuff, but these are actually from the rain-forest. Do you fancy one? You have to crack it open, put it in your mouth and suck it for about ten minutes, until it goes soft, then chew it for a bit. No no, you have to crack it out of its shell! I did say that!” [mintsouth are incapable of following simple instructions].
Are these a legal high?
Dave M: “We don’t get high. We’re anti-drugs, apart from a good scrumpy.”
Jim: “Life is the high we need. So yeah we drink a lot of scrumpy. And health seeds.”
Have you got much planned for your stage show? (Thomas Tantrum closed the weekend at Hector’s House on Saturday night)
Jim: “We’re thinking about props. It’s a dangerous game I know.”
Dave M: “We’ve got a new song called All The Bees. I was thinking of having tennis ball-sized bees hanging from bits of cotton, but I don’t know where we’d get these from.”
For a second I thought you were going to say you’d let bees loose on the crowd.
Dave W: “Take the sting out and let them fly around.”
Dave M: “In Japan they get a wasp drunk and then they tie a bit of cotton around it, and then they actually take it around like a pet. My friend told me that.”
How many people do they know who have got one?
Dave M: “None.”
It’s almost time to go back inside…
Jim: “Give me a provocative question.”
MP expenses – what’s your opinion?
Jim: “Bloody awful! Do you know what? If I was an MP and it was offered to me, I’d take a second home. It’s the system that needs correcting. MPs are just, you know, if you’re going to be offered it, you’re going to take it.”
http://www.myspace.com/thomastantrum
First published on mintsouth.com in May 2009
Words - Suzy Sims
Editor - Rob Ball
(c) mintsouth.com
THOMAS TANTRUM @ BRIGHTON'S GREAT ESCAPE 2009
The skies are grey above Brighton. We’ve rounded up a few of Southampton art-punk-poppers Thomas Tantrum and herded them outside. David Miatt (guitar), Jim Shivers (bass) and new recruit Dave Wade Brown (drums) are stood round the back of the Thistle Hotel underneath the canopy. The Great Escape is in full swing and there are various delegates and musicians sat on the hotel steps smoking or taking in the fresh (damp) air.
Dave M: “The worst thing about the rain is you wear stupid footwear and your socks just get soaked, it’s really uncomfortable.”
Jim: “Someone’s got to be doing promotional umbrellas or something…”
Dave, how are you fitting into the band?
Dave W: “Yeah, really well. At first it was kind of like ‘What do I do?’ a little bit. But I think now we’ve been playing for about a month and a half together and a lot of writing and rehearsing and stuff and it’s really coming together.”
Have you played The Great Escape before?
Jim: “Yes. Played last year in the Waterfront, but it’s gone now. I think they have renamed it.”
They should get rid of Concorde 2, that’s ten miles away.
Jim: “Or they should just move it, just drag it in.”
Dave M: “We were considering doing a guerrilla gig but our singer’s not getting here ‘til tomorrow, so we could maybe have a jam on the street under a different name. It’s probably a bit too late now. Could do a bit of busking because we’re quite broke.”
Have you been to see many bands already so far?
Jim: “Last night, who did we collectively see... Pulled Apart By Horses, and Dave went to see Evan Dando and was not disappointed.”
Dave M: ”Well I was a bit disappointed, he didn’t say anything and he was just going through the motions. It’s because he’s teetotal and he’s married and he doesn’t give a shit. He could have at least made some funny quips. He just looks really bored.”
Jim: “So I’ve classed him now as the new Ryan Adams.”
Dave W: “Sorry Evan. You’re cool really.”
Who are you off to see tonight?
Jim: “We’ve got a bit of a dilemma at 10’o’clock between Screaming Tea Party, Holy Fuck and Times New Viking.”
Isn’t Holy Fuck a DJ set?
Jim: “They’re playing as well, after Metronomy. I’ve seen Metronomy before and they’re pretty good.”
Are there any local-ish bands you’re looking to catch?
Dave M: “The only band I’ve noticed who are from Southampton is called Jazica but I’ve never had the chance to really check them out before. I didn’t realise that Fresh Legs were playing actually. Oh shit they played already.”
Dave W: “They’re getting better, every time I’ve seen them they’re just getting better.”
What festivals are you playing this summer?
Dave M: “We’re doing Summerfield, Blissfields, Sellindge.”
Jim: “A new festival in Belfast. The name is unknown, should be quite fun.”
Are you doing Bestival again?
Jim: “Not yet, hopefully we’ll get a spot.”
Dave M: “As soon as we release something, we’ll probably get more offers coming in.”
What else have Thomas Tantrum got planned over the next couple of months?
Dave M: “Hopefully releasing a single soon but before we come back and tour again we want to build up even more songs, maybe even an album’s worth. We’ve already started recording, we’ve got a new song called Sleep which is a candidate for the new single, but it’s early days yet.”
Talk about sleep, are you getting much this weekend? Jim: “Oh no, no.” How are you feeling today? “OK now actually.”
Dave M: “I went to the shop and I got these guarana seeds. They put the active ingredient in Red Bull and stuff, but these are actually from the rain-forest. Do you fancy one? You have to crack it open, put it in your mouth and suck it for about ten minutes, until it goes soft, then chew it for a bit. No no, you have to crack it out of its shell! I did say that!” [mintsouth are incapable of following simple instructions].
Are these a legal high?
Dave M: “We don’t get high. We’re anti-drugs, apart from a good scrumpy.”
Jim: “Life is the high we need. So yeah we drink a lot of scrumpy. And health seeds.”
Have you got much planned for your stage show? (Thomas Tantrum closed the weekend at Hector’s House on Saturday night)
Jim: “We’re thinking about props. It’s a dangerous game I know.”
Dave M: “We’ve got a new song called All The Bees. I was thinking of having tennis ball-sized bees hanging from bits of cotton, but I don’t know where we’d get these from.”
For a second I thought you were going to say you’d let bees loose on the crowd.
Dave W: “Take the sting out and let them fly around.”
Dave M: “In Japan they get a wasp drunk and then they tie a bit of cotton around it, and then they actually take it around like a pet. My friend told me that.”
How many people do they know who have got one?
Dave M: “None.”
It’s almost time to go back inside…
Jim: “Give me a provocative question.”
MP expenses – what’s your opinion?
Jim: “Bloody awful! Do you know what? If I was an MP and it was offered to me, I’d take a second home. It’s the system that needs correcting. MPs are just, you know, if you’re going to be offered it, you’re going to take it.”
http://www.myspace.com/thomastantrum
Interview - The Maccabees at The Great Escape
I was getting really angsty before this one, due to the fact the photographer was running 20 minutes late and there wasn't much time available...
Words - Suzy Sims
Editor - Rob Ball
First published on mintsouth.com in May 2009
(c) mintsouth
ORLANDO WEEKS (THE MACCABEES) @ THE GREAT ESCAPE
Five minutes and counting. Team mINtSOUTH are sat in a Brighton café facing The Maccabees’ lead singer Orlando Weeks. He’s recovering after a late night and is wearing a patterned cap and a sleepy yet friendly smile. The interview cards are at the ready. Time to see if we can do this before we’re interrupted by the soundcheck. Go!
Quirky indie poppers The Maccabees played last night in the Corn Exchange, and in a few hours time are set to play in the Pavilion Theatre, a matinee show for competition winners. Recent single ‘Love You Better’ has been all over the airwaves and the band has been touring the UK over the past few weeks, so Orlando is probably welcoming the chance for a quick sit down.
How’s the Great Escape Festival going so far?
“I saw The Week That Was yesterday and that was really good, and I really enjoyed The Agitator as well. I’ve got to head home after we’ve played this afternoon. We played [The Great Escape] maybe two years ago and I came last year. It always seems to do that thing where it doesn’t rain properly, it just makes everything damp and so the whole time you feel slightly sticky. It’s a sticky festival.”
Do you get much time to watch bands at festivals?
“Yeah, that’s kind of the massive privilege of it all is that you go and see bands free and you see bands that you haven’t seen for ages because everyone’s touring or everyone’s been writing records and you all meet up at festivals.”
Have you got any plans for the rest of the year?
“Just going to be playing loads and loads and loads. At the end of this tour we’ve got like seven days or something, and then go to Europe for a bit, go to America, come back and do the festivals, and do another tour in autumn around England again and Europe. There is rest, it’s just like at unusual times.
“I’m quite excited to see Fleet Foxes at Glastonbury and we’re playing Haldern Pop Festival in Germany with Grizzly Bear. Their new record comes out Monday so I’ll have enough time to get my head round that and then I’ll be able to see them for real. I can’t wait.”
If you could have a great escape, where would you escape to? “Right now?” He has a think. “I’d go to Cornwall.”
As we’re currently not in Cornwall, we mention Brighton. “I’m from London, I’m from Clapham but I lived here for four years whilst I was doing a degree. Illustration.”
Do you know many bands in the area? “Yeah I think that part of the charm of Brighton is that because it’s so close knit, you kind of end up knowing everyone, so it’s nice.”
And from the city itself on to funfair rides: "I used to really like the one that’s on the end of the pier, where you’re on the end of an arm that goes like that (does swinging motion) and I can’t go on it anymore because I read that someone was on one once and a seagull went in their head and killed them. If you want to get made up so it looks like you’ve been shot or have an arrow through your head, my father would say that it wasn’t a good idea because it would be tempting fate. So in general anything that risks life and limb unnecessarily, I think I’ve inherited that from him, I don’t see the point. Seagulls are evil birds,” he adds, quite rightly.
The Maccabees’ second album ‘Wall Of Arms’ came out earlier this month on Polydor. Has Orlando got any messages for people who haven’t bought it yet but who really should? “I wouldn’t say buy it. Just borrow someone’s, see what you think.”
How’s it going down, are you getting quite good feedback?“Yeah, so far so good. The people that have borrowed it have liked it,” he says with a smile.
Finally we see if Orlando has any advice for the new bands all trying to make it big at this year’s festival.“I’m not really one for giving advice really, I don’t really feel like I’ve earned that privilege,” he says modestly. “All we did was just play as much as possible and rehearse as much as we could and be really self-critical. I don’t think that’s advice, I just think that’s how we went about it.”
Time to let Orlando whizz off and get soundcheck out the way. There’s just enough time to grab a quick photograph where Team mINtSOUTH pretend to be his bandmates. “You have to look moodily into the distance,” Orlando advises. Instead we grin like berks. The Maccabees’ singer may not like giving advice, but it’s for everyone’s benefit.
http://www.themaccabees.co.uk
Words - Suzy Sims
Editor - Rob Ball
First published on mintsouth.com in May 2009
(c) mintsouth
ORLANDO WEEKS (THE MACCABEES) @ THE GREAT ESCAPE
Five minutes and counting. Team mINtSOUTH are sat in a Brighton café facing The Maccabees’ lead singer Orlando Weeks. He’s recovering after a late night and is wearing a patterned cap and a sleepy yet friendly smile. The interview cards are at the ready. Time to see if we can do this before we’re interrupted by the soundcheck. Go!
Quirky indie poppers The Maccabees played last night in the Corn Exchange, and in a few hours time are set to play in the Pavilion Theatre, a matinee show for competition winners. Recent single ‘Love You Better’ has been all over the airwaves and the band has been touring the UK over the past few weeks, so Orlando is probably welcoming the chance for a quick sit down.
How’s the Great Escape Festival going so far?
“I saw The Week That Was yesterday and that was really good, and I really enjoyed The Agitator as well. I’ve got to head home after we’ve played this afternoon. We played [The Great Escape] maybe two years ago and I came last year. It always seems to do that thing where it doesn’t rain properly, it just makes everything damp and so the whole time you feel slightly sticky. It’s a sticky festival.”
Do you get much time to watch bands at festivals?
“Yeah, that’s kind of the massive privilege of it all is that you go and see bands free and you see bands that you haven’t seen for ages because everyone’s touring or everyone’s been writing records and you all meet up at festivals.”
Have you got any plans for the rest of the year?
“Just going to be playing loads and loads and loads. At the end of this tour we’ve got like seven days or something, and then go to Europe for a bit, go to America, come back and do the festivals, and do another tour in autumn around England again and Europe. There is rest, it’s just like at unusual times.
“I’m quite excited to see Fleet Foxes at Glastonbury and we’re playing Haldern Pop Festival in Germany with Grizzly Bear. Their new record comes out Monday so I’ll have enough time to get my head round that and then I’ll be able to see them for real. I can’t wait.”
If you could have a great escape, where would you escape to? “Right now?” He has a think. “I’d go to Cornwall.”
As we’re currently not in Cornwall, we mention Brighton. “I’m from London, I’m from Clapham but I lived here for four years whilst I was doing a degree. Illustration.”
Do you know many bands in the area? “Yeah I think that part of the charm of Brighton is that because it’s so close knit, you kind of end up knowing everyone, so it’s nice.”
And from the city itself on to funfair rides: "I used to really like the one that’s on the end of the pier, where you’re on the end of an arm that goes like that (does swinging motion) and I can’t go on it anymore because I read that someone was on one once and a seagull went in their head and killed them. If you want to get made up so it looks like you’ve been shot or have an arrow through your head, my father would say that it wasn’t a good idea because it would be tempting fate. So in general anything that risks life and limb unnecessarily, I think I’ve inherited that from him, I don’t see the point. Seagulls are evil birds,” he adds, quite rightly.
The Maccabees’ second album ‘Wall Of Arms’ came out earlier this month on Polydor. Has Orlando got any messages for people who haven’t bought it yet but who really should? “I wouldn’t say buy it. Just borrow someone’s, see what you think.”
How’s it going down, are you getting quite good feedback?“Yeah, so far so good. The people that have borrowed it have liked it,” he says with a smile.
Finally we see if Orlando has any advice for the new bands all trying to make it big at this year’s festival.“I’m not really one for giving advice really, I don’t really feel like I’ve earned that privilege,” he says modestly. “All we did was just play as much as possible and rehearse as much as we could and be really self-critical. I don’t think that’s advice, I just think that’s how we went about it.”
Time to let Orlando whizz off and get soundcheck out the way. There’s just enough time to grab a quick photograph where Team mINtSOUTH pretend to be his bandmates. “You have to look moodily into the distance,” Orlando advises. Instead we grin like berks. The Maccabees’ singer may not like giving advice, but it’s for everyone’s benefit.
http://www.themaccabees.co.uk
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)